HBDHB orderlies; Summer Teepa-Cunningham and Chris Ryan. Photo / Paul Taylor
Orderlies are the ghosts of the hospital, lost in the busy lives of those around them.
They're often the first face you see, yet go unnoticed.
But their job is much more than stripping sheets off the beds or transporting patients - they are the caretakers - a "book of knowledge".
Tucked away in one of the many rooms at Hawke's Bay Hospital, the phone can be heard ringing, so too can the indistinct chatter of the people who inhabit it, while they stop for fleeting moments.
"I've enjoyed the job," Rodney Wylie says, in between phone calls.
"You think you're helping people."
And he has.
Wylie is one of the longest serving orderlies, having been there for about 19 years.
Over those years he has witnessed a lot of change.
He remembers when the service was outsourced privately, before moving in-house 10 years ago.
But perhaps most significantly is the transition to having more females (now 40 per cent) in the team and a female team leader since six years ago.
However, through everything, and despite sometimes grim personal circumstances, each member has adapted well and put everything aside to help others.
"I'm really proud of my team and through change as well. Change is good; it is positive, but it brings challenges as well and we strive with that," orderly team leader Lisa Albert says.
"What we do is essential to the smooth and safe running of the hospital and other services, but often to others ... it just happens.
"The individuals, they love the job, they love helping people."
It is for this reason why she entered the team in this year's Hawke's Bay Health Awards - the first year they have been entered.
"For me it was about getting recognition for my team and the work that they carry out. And for them to feel valued and a part of the wider community, as well as educating the wider community actually what they do in their roles."
On November 30, to a standing ovation, they were awarded for their 'outstanding contribution to Hawke's Bay health through living our values'.
Their values; He Kauanuanu (respect); Akina (improvement); Rarangatetira (partnership) and Tauwhiro (care) are intrinsically part of them, Albert says.
"Like all DHB departments, we are all bound and challenged by budget and that can be quite hard at times, so it was just enough to lift them above that and reflect on the great things that our service does do and provide here."
The team is made up of 37 staff; 11 women and 26 men, who are either fulltime, part-time or casual.
They range from being fresh out of high school to about 70 years old and come from all ethnic groups and walks of life.
They are available 24/7 and deliver a range of services both within and outside the hospital setting.
Of special note within the award entry was the mention of the team's de-escalation training to manage confrontational behaviour - working alongside DHB colleagues for patient care and safety as well as the respectful and dignified role they play in the management of newly deceased patients, their key liaison with emergency services and support for whānau.
"As much as they see the pleasant, they see the unpleasant and they are really good at helping defuse and deescalate situations and assisting people in their journey."
But as much as they help others, the job has given so much to them in return - whether it is a lifeline or a stepping stone in the right direction.
Albert says, "It's all about upscaling, moving them forward and growing and educating them, as well as providing those opportunities to support them.
"Their personal development, their confidence, their self-esteem, their abilities and the education side grows. School is not for everybody ... it is on the job training."
They also complete a National Certificate in Health and Well-Being through their job, which includes health and safety training, CPR, infection control, engaging with Māori and other cultures.
Twenty-one-year-old Summer Teepa-Cunningham didn't know what to do after high school and managed to get a job as a casual orderly.
The job, which initially was for financial reasons, opened the door to nursing.
"I actually got to see the nurse and patient interaction and that's what got me on board with it," Teepa-Cunningham said.
Now, after three years of studying at EIT, while working, she is a qualified nurse.
"I've always had an interest in the medical field ... It is just the fact that I can finally put my training to work.
"It's given me a lot of confidence as well to move forward in life."